History of: BC Rich Guitars

BC Rich Guitars are an organization specialising in angular and extreme guitar shapes and styles best suited for rock, hard rock and heavy metal music. Bernardo Chavez Rico was the unlikely person to build distinct electric guitars. Bernardo Rico (aka “Bernie”) was an successful Flamenco acoustic player. From the early to mid 60s Bernie Rico exclusively built Flamenco guitars in Bernardo’s Guitar Store in LA, Cal. Former executive Vice President, Mal Stich, said, “When you walked into Bernardo's shop the very first thing you noticed was wall to wall electric guitars hanging from the ceiling like birthday party balloons. There was a glass counter with strings, picks, guitar parts and accessories. Behind the counter was a window and you could actually watch the guys building guitars. But, the best thing was there were usually Flamenco and Classical musicians pickin away. I recall Flamenco players firing at each other with riff-after-riff. Bernie's father, Bernardo Mason Rico, was always sitting in his chair next to the Coca Cola soda machine while buddies and neighbors stood enthralled as they listened to the music.”

We are recognizing BC Rich Guitar’s Fortieth Anniversary marking 1969 as the time Bernie embarked on his first attempt to manufacture guitars and basses. It has been recorded that ten basses influenced by the Gibson EB-3 bass in addition to ten matching Les Paul influenced electric guitars were all handcrafted. Right now few of those guitars exist, it's said that fewer than the number above had been actually completed.

The period around 1972 was exceptionally auspicious. The first original guitar design, the Seagull, was hand-crafted in Bernardo’s shop. True to future shape, the Seagull was visually distinctive along with revolutionary. The guitar's neck-through design (now an embarkment of BC Rich) featured a heel-less design – incredibly uncommon for that era.

Bernie quickly hired several talented creative designers to compliment his very proficient builders. Most of the distinctive shapes and styles that would emerge from this expansion have turn out to be legendary shapes associated with guitars. Around 1976 arrived the Mockingbird, and then the additional development of the Seagull, the Eagle was born, and around 1978 came the Bich was introduced. A number of the most respected musicians immediately took to the revolutionary direction of BC Rich Guitars.

With growing accomplishment, there was a necessity for a cheaper mass-produced BC Rich guitar. Around 1978 Bernie set up the BC Rico trademark to designate guitars that would be imported from Japan. This first try was not profitable when the Rico Reed Company filed a lawsuit over the use of the name. Regardless of the consequence, the decision was already made to implement the BC Rich name on imported guitars. Merely a handful, possibly 100 or so BC Rico instruments ever made it to the United States.

When the early 80s came, the Warlock was introduced. Almost instantly the hair metal culture of the time slaved to the Warlock’s edgy and distinctive contour. The Warlock, while nowhere near the latest style created, rounds out the primary 5 traditional BC Rich shapes and styles.

The 90s and 2000s saw a brand new crop of nasty models even pointier than the 80s models. These included the Ignitor, Draco, Zombie, Beast (master-minded by Brian Hoffman, guitarists of death metal band Deicide), Warbeast (a combination of Beast and Warlock).

BC Rich are also known for their endorsement deals with a number of celebrated and respected hard rock and metal musicians including Kerry King of Slayer (whose signature model is diabolic V-shape that has intensive tribal visual work over the guitar's body. King also has a signature model primarily based on the Warlock). The deceased guitarists, Chuck Schuldiner of Death (when Schuldiner died of cancer in 2001 BC Rich Guitars introduced a tribute model based on his preferred guitar, the BC Rich Stealth). Paul Stanley of KISS, and Paolo Gregoletto (bassist in Trivium) are also endorsed BC Rich players. If you're like me, when you think of rock and metal... you think of recognizable guitars like BC Rich. They helped form rock and roll.

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Steve is a passionate music lover and guitar player who has been playing guitar for over 25 years. One of his favorite websites he uses for his guitar related resources is Gear-Vault.com, the best guitar review websites on the entire internet. Resource to History of B.C. Rich Guitars

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